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Thursday, July 2, 2015

Pattern Testing: The Blue Ridge Dress by Hello Holli

Recently, I tested the Blue Ridge Dress by Hello Holli. You might have seen her amazing spread in STYLO magazine. She is one talented lady. So when I saw her tester call on Instagram, I immediately applied, hoping I would get the chance to test for her.

I love dresses. Or rather, I love sewing dresses for my girls. And it's probably no secret by now that I love nani IRO fabric. I feel like it makes everything look so much nicer, even when my sewing is not perfect (not that it ever is, ha!). I had bought about 2 yards (I think) of "Mountain Views" in double gauze a while ago, and put it in my "someday to be sewn" pile. It's a pile that I swore I wouldn't touch until I was more experienced. Some people might refer to my actions as "hoarding", ha ha ha...ummm yeah. But I had plans. It wasn't going to be for my girls, it was going to be something special for ME!

So...that didn't go as planned. Why? Because along came this amazing pattern by Hello Holli with the perfect name: The Blue Ridge Dress. Now how could I not use "Moutain Views"??

First, I debated over whether to make a dress or a top. Then I debated over whether to use blue or pink or yellow bias tape. And then I debated where I would use the different colors. My fellow testers (thank you!) suggested yellow, and I liked it, since I thought that it would be symbolic of the sun rising over the mountains, or something super cheesy like that, but it all fell to the wayside when my daughter took one look at what I was making and protested vehemently, saying she "definitely wanted pink." And since I really wanted to be sure that she would wear this top, pink it was.

In the end, I think it was the right choice, since I had just made the perfect pink Morocco shorts (blogged about here) to go with it. Serendipitous? Maybe. Anyway, it matches pretty well, don't you think? Thank goodness, because otherwise I would have been scrambling for something to go with this top.

We decided to go to the park, since we had the morning off. Of course she found the carousel right away.

And then she went over to a few other rides, which were mysteriously "broken" (sorry, kiddo, but I'm not doing that). Fortunately, she was happy enough climbing all over the giant mushrooms.

Hey, look at that! It's me in a Blue Ridge top!

My top didn't exactly turn out the way I had originally envisioned -- namely because after I'd cut the bodice pieces, I realized that I had not bought enough linen for the rest of the top. What's that, you say? I should have gone out to get more linen rather than compromising my "vision"? Well, yes. But remember; I am l-a-z-y. Plus, I wanted to finish it in time for this post. So here we are with the madras version (for which I did a size 14 bodice and size 8 skirt -- total guesswork on the skirt, but I did a muslin with the 14, which was a bit too gathered and too long for the look I wanted). My husband insists it's "too young" for me. Gah! Did I even ask you, dear husband? Oh, right. I did. OK, fine.

So anyway, I love the back as well. There is a single button closure, and Holli's instructions guide you through a lovely way of sewing the bodice so that all your seams are enclosed. And French seams for the skirt! Wonderful news for my sensitive girl.

This is an intermediate level pattern, but as you can see, I consider myself a confident beginner, and I managed it okay, so I think you will be able to as well! I love that there are layers so you can print the size you want, and the instructions & illustrations are clear and easy to follow. Once you've made yours, you can join the Hello Holli Makers Facebook group to share your pictures with everyone! Yay!

My daughter was upset when it was time to go, but it's nothing a little ice cream can't fix, right?

You can get the pattern here, and don't forget to use the coupon code BLUERIDGELAUNCH for 20% off through July 3.

Holli is also giving away 2 copies of this pattern! You can enter the giveaway here (until July 4) and winners will be announced on July 6.

You should check out the other tester versions of this pattern -- so many pretty dresses!!